Girl of Roses
by Rachelandes
Summary: It was supposed to be a game-a training exercise really. SAO was supposed to a chance to have fun fighting risk free and keep Dad and Uncle Qrow from worrying. But when the stakes rose with Kayaba's declaration, I wouldn't recoil and run. I was far too tenacious for that. I'd bought the game for a good fight, and I wasn't going to hold back just because of a few new rules.
1. Chapter 1

It was supposed to be a game - a training exercise really. I wouldn't graduate Signal for another two years, which I would need to manage before I could even apply to Beacon. Yang was starting this year but my dream of becoming a huntress was a little farther off, my youth working against me. Sword Art Online was the perfect opportunity to slay monsters and live the life I always wanted to have a little earlier. I knew it wouldn't be exactly the same, what with the sword skills and the assortment of all kinds of beasts and monsters to slay instead of just the Grimm I learn about in class. I also knew it'd be close enough for now. But I never imagined the most important continuity would be the danger. It was supposed to be a game, not a deathtrap. It was never supposed to be real danger. It was going to be a rare opportunity for me to fight and learn and just enjoy the battle. But when the stakes rose, I wouldn't recoil and run. I was far too tenacious for that. I'd bought the game for a good fight, and I wasn't going to hold back just because there were a few new rules.

"…The logout button has been removed from the menu… Not a bug in the system… No longer a method to revive someone within the game… There is only one means of escape: complete the game… I wish you luck, players."

I couldn't see over anyone's head anymore. My avatar, which was standard sized just moments ago, had shrunk to match my actual proportions when the glowing subsided and if I wasn't careful I'd be trampled in the impending chaos. In of the corner of my eye movement glinted. I turned to see a boy around my age dragging a twenty-something man behind him. I took off in their direction, curious to see where they were heading and more than a little desperate to escape the disarray that was erupting behind me even as I fled.

When they stopped in a corridor to talk, I waited in an adjacent hall and listened.

"I'm heading over to the next village right now. Come with me." At the man's startled silence the boy continued, "If everything he said is true, the only way to survive in this world is by making yourself as strong as possible. The resources within a virtual MMORPG, in other words the money and EXP we can earn, are limited. The fields surrounding the Town of Beginnings will soon be hunted clean. To be efficient, we should set up base in the next village right now. I know all the paths and dangerous areas. So even at level one I can get there safely."

A second passed, before the man spoke up. "But… but you know, I… stayed in line with friends from another game to buy this software. They must be out there in the plaza. I can't leave them behind… Sorry. I can hardly ask you for anything else, can I? So don't worry about it. Go on to the next village. I used to run a guild in my last game, you know. I can use the techniques you taught me to get by!"

As they said their goodbyes my mind tentatively settled on a course of action. When the man ran back to find his friends, I sped forward. The boy stopped jogging then glanced back, no doubt hoping for a last glimpse of his friend who had already turned the corner, and saw me. I sputtered to a halt and looked down as he shifted to face me fully.

"Umm… hi. I'm Ruby Rose. I - uh - overheard you talking to that man about how you knew the path to the next village and what to avoid, so I thought you must have been a beta tester, right? I guess I was wondering if I could go with you instead." He wore a look of startled bafflement when I began, but nodded cautiously as I mentioned the Beta-testing. His expression was already guarded by the time I mentioned accompanying him to the next village so I rushed to explain. "I wasn't in the Beta so I don't know my way around the town very well, let alone on the paths. I'd be completely squashed if I stayed here and agree with what you said earlier about it being smarter to go now. I didn't come to S.A.O. with any friends from other games and really don't want to get crushed in the panic back in town. Please."

He relaxed a little, almost smirking before he thought better of it, at the thought of me getting squashed and I looked down sheepishly as he surveyed my short stature. When I lifted my gaze again he still looked hesitant, but more concerned than suspicious. Before he could get a word in I reassured him hastily, "I can defend myself against monsters just fine, I promise, I'm just not so good with people. But fighting and weapons I get, they don't have my specialty this early in the game as far as I can tell, but I'm decent enough with a curved sword and can use most blades and spears if necessary - my uncle teaches at a battle school in the real world and I've been training under him since I was eleven. Anyway, I'm not useless, just socially awkward. I've already leveled up, see," I quickly swiped my hand and brought up my menu, clumsily changing the viewing settings so he could see my screen and finding my player info turning so he could see. It displayed my username, gender, and current level. I was at level two with about two-third remaining of the bar remaining before I'd reach level three. "The way you were talking made it seem like you spent this afternoon teaching the guy from before how to play and probably didn't get the chance to grind at all. I played with my menu a little and went fighting after getting a good sword and… I'm talking too much…" I sighed sheepishly, " Sorry."

When I finally met his eyes the corners of his mouth were upturned at my rambling and he seemed a little more at ease with me. "It's okay. I'm not the best with people either. My name is Kirito by the way. And yes, you can come with me. You seem decent enough and it'd be nice to have a capable sword at my back."

I smiled brightly before he said, "Well come on, this way." He took off at a slow run and I hurried after him again. This time he knew I was following.

* * *

After a few hours of running, the quiet broken only by Kirito's occasional directions, we decided to take a short break. Pulling up our menus and bringing out a couple of apples to snack on, we sat on some of the larger rocks just off the path.

"So, what was the Beta like?" I asked. "I'm assuming there wasn't a death penalty or anything if your HP dropped too much. Did you enjoy it?"

"Yeah, actually. I lived and breathed SAO for those two months, it was all I thought about. Seems like that will be nothing compared to what's to come though." He sounded off, the admiration and enjoyment the words should have portrayed dampered by the regret that leaked from his voice.

"Oh, umm… does it seem the same so far? Aside from the whole dying thing, is everything the way you remember it?"

Kirito quirked his eyebrows, curious. "Everything has been the same, yeah. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Oh, that's good. I was just wondering. I mean, if they can change something as huge as what happens when your character dies, then they can change anything: the sword skills, quests, the monsters and floors, anything. I was just worried some of the important stuff wouldn't be the same as in the Beta and it'd cause trouble - there was time in the month or so between when the Beta ended and the official launch, right? Isn't that what they usually do in Beta testing, find bugs and fix them? Change things? Anything could have been different…"

He was staring at me, mouth agape, as I rambled. Maybe he hadn't thought about other changes; there was a pretty glaring inconsistency to focus on after all. "I - uh," he sputtered, "Haven't noticed anything yet, but you have a point. I'll keep an eye out."

Nodding, I changed the subject to something less daunting. "I don't play a lot of video games, could you help me figure out these skill slots and points please? I really only worked out enough to buy my sword and equip it when I looked at it earlier."

He quickly agreed and within a few minutes we had distributed the status points - two to speed and one to strength - I was awarded for leveling up. He was a little surprised by my utter lack of prior understanding until I explained that "don't play a lot of video games" was a serious understatement. My life was dominated by Signal and training with Uncle Qrow to the point that I rarely did anything outside of killing Grimm and crafting or maintaining weapons. Sure, I ate and slept, but that was about it. You didn't have time to "dive" into online worlds at battle school. The only reason I was in Aincrad to begin with was inescapable boredom during summer vacation.

Apparently players are supposed start out with one open skill slot for fighting and one designated as "other" that was usually filled by shield or battle healing this early in the game. I chose sprint, hoping it would help compensate for my drastically diminished semblance, to go with my previously selected one-handed curved blade battle skill. Skill slots were supposed to appear as you leveled, the third slot appearing at six and so on at set intervals. A skill's usefulness and capacity grew as you used it, unlocking abilities as players became more experienced and leveled the skill. It was rumored that SAO had an infinite variety of skills - making up for the limited stats categories. (Agility and strength were the only options for status point distribution, the supposedly "normal" categories like intelligence and charisma were replaced with our personal ability.) It didn't really make a difference to me, I'd never played those games and this one was the only game that matter as far as I was concerned - those games couldn't kill me because I wasn't playing them. SAO was all that mattered.

After our brief, hunger-inspired interlude, we set off again. By the time we'd run maybe two miles we encountered monsters - likely stronger than those I fought near town. Kirito had told his friend that he could make it to the next town without danger, but I suppose without a guide I wouldn't have even gotten this far so quickly nevermind without fighting. The monster's red eyes reminded me of a the Beowolves back home in the Cliffside Forest, but closer resembled a traditional wolf in terms of movement. Kirito's eyes flashed when he noticed the dire wolf that somehow beamed into existence with a minor lightshow before he turned his head and looked at me. "Ready?" It was a challenge, a question and warning all at once, asking if I was really up to the task at hand and later escape via unyielding combat. I nodded and he took a few steps back, silently indicating that this was my fight. He'd lend a hand, or rather a sword, if he thought I needed help but was otherwise content to see how I'd handle the clash.

I breathed in then out, warily eyeing the beast, before running forward to meet the monster. Most grimm, Beowolves included, were especially vulnerable to neck and back wounds. I'd have to hope Kabaya followed that pattern and his creations had logical weaknesses. Though the dire wolf had spawned a good distance away from us, in the time Kirito and I made (mostly) wordless exchanges the beast had gained ground and I only covered a few yards before I could draw parallel to the beast. I turned away from it before we could intersect, spinning to power my strike with momentum as I slashed through its upper torso. A red streak appeared where I'd torn through fur and muscle as the health bar hovering beneath its red cursor plummeted. Just under half of the bar now remained. As it pivoted to counter attack I vanished - though much slower than I normally do - into the air, twisting when I reached full height and started to descend. I dragged my too-short blade through the wolf starting as I fell to the ground, already rolling into a crouch when the animal exploded into pixels and a screen appeared in front of me.

 _Result. EXP 34. Col 42. Items 1._

"Nicely done."

I rose from my crouch, smiling. "I did say I could fight, Kirito. I'm far better with weapons than I am people. Sometimes I think it's my redeeming feature."

He laughed and shook his head. "Well, you were right - about the fighting anyway. But why didn't you just use a sword skill? It would have finished the wolf on the first strike, though getting the kill in two blows without system assistance says impressive

things about your dexterity."

"Oh, umm…" I paused. I hadn't even considered using a sword skill though I had a general idea of what they did and had managed to use them a couple of times when I fought the Frenzy Boars this afternoon. "Habit, I guess. In the real word sword skills don't exist and that's where I learned to fight." I shrugged. " I hadn't really intended on using the sword skills in SAO when I bought the game, it was really more for training purposes. I also don't really understand what I need to do to use them, but I guess that will have to change if I'm going to survive this place."

Kirito raised his eyebrows, his face asking _You left the The Town of Beginners not knowing something most of the beginners have figured out?_ but didn't say it outright. Instead, he offered a solution. "I can teach you, though we probably don't need to worry about it until we get to Horunka Village. It looks like you can fight well enough without them anyway. Let's get going, if we hurry we can reach town before nightfall. We'll find an inn for the night and sell our drops in the morning. We'll be able to buy better equipment there and then I can help you with the sword skills."

* * *

So, I'm pretty new to and writing fiction in general. That said I think I did a pretty good job. I have more of this written, probably enough for the second chapter, but I want to go over it a time or two again looking for errors and possible improvements. The second chapter _will,_ however, be posted soon. I can't necessarily say the same about the third (stupid school, taking up all my time and making me _learn_ stuff) but reviews may speed up the process *wink* *wink*. Complaints, compliments and all other comments will be graciously appreciated. Let me know if there is anything I can do to make my fic more enjoyable for my readers. Most authors write personal notes here as well so I suppose I'll follow suite. There was a huge wind storm

last week and we lost power. I was not happy. It was cold. They got it fixed this weekend though so now I'm warm and toasty:). Thank you so much for reading my fic (and author's note). Consider below a token of my appreciation.

* * *

*formatting update, not story. Sorry about the previous formatting, I used a different word processor when I was writing the story and it didn't copy well. I hope this fixes the issue.

**I think I finally got it right. So sorry about the delay. I don't know why there were random slashes and returns, but it won't happen again. While I appreciate being informed of the formatting error greatly, some of the reviews that mentioned it were less than pleasant to read. Please remember the writers on this site are not paid and politeness is not only prefered but expected.

* * *

 _Omake_

"…The logout button has been removed from the menu… Not a bug in the system… No longer a method to revive someone within the game… There is only one means of escape: complete the game… I wish you luck, players."

" _Are you… kidnapping me?"_


	2. Chapter 2

_Again, I own nothing but my words (which I stole from the English language) my thoughts (plagiarized from all of the wonderful teachers and people I have interacted with) and the body with which I typed (embezzled from my parents who still technically own me). Even the computer I'm posting with belongs to another! Reviews are welcome but enjoyment is demanded._

 _*Formatting Update: all of the slashes and annoying spaces have been removed. I did not know they were present when I posted the chapters, a result of using different word processor to write the story. My apologies, it will not happen again. I'm also sorry it took so long to remove them, I like to say I was busy with exams and school - and I was - but after that it was straight up procrastination._

* * *

Morning brought a reminder of what we'd allowed ourselves to forget in our fatigue. The inn room was cozy but unfamiliar and my unusually clear vision further showed all too well that my nightmare was not, in fact, a dream. …Okay, I can deal with this.

Downstairs was empty save for the elderly NPC innkeeper - I could tell because he didn't have a cursor above his head. Kirito must not be up yet. A quick glance out the window showed the virtual sun was still low in the sky while the clock in the bottom-right corner

Of my vision read 5:26 A.M., so he probably won't be waking up for a while. But that was no reason to be rude to our host, and it's not like I had anything better to do.

"Hello, Mr. Innkeeper!"

He looked up, surprised before responding. "Oh, hello Dearie. I'm afraid I didn't see you there."

"Oh, that's okay." I smiled because even though he wasn't a player, the way his greying hair seemed to be avoiding his head how he was almost hunched back reminded me of the owner at From Dust Till Dawn. "Say, Mr. Innkeeper, I'm not

you mind telling me a little about Horunka?"

"Of course, Dearie, but it's a small town. What did you want to know?"

That was the question, wasn't it: What did I want to know? "How about anything interesting happening in town. Or if nothing's going on then maybe you could tell me what kind of shops are nearby." Even if there weren't any easy quests I could still learn something before Kirito woke up.

"Shops? Well, aside from this inn there is the Weapon Shop and the Tool Shop. We really are a small town," The shrewd grin he wore became conspiratorial as he continued. "That's about it. There really are just a few of us here, but there's always

something that needs doing. If you ask around I'm sure some of my neighbors have a few tasks that could use a young person like you."

I grinned back. "Do you have anything that needs an extra hand for doing Mr. Innkeeper?"

He laughed heartily before saying "No, nothing so troublesome Dearie." We said our farewells and I left the inn, looking around the meager town.

There were ten buildings over all, including the inn I had just left and two other shops - unmistakeable with the merchandise on display - just as the old man had explained. Of the remaining seven only one stood out, the two-story building at the end of the street. That was probably home to an important NPC offering a quest with an impressive reward, but I wasn't going to do anything too trying without Kirito's approval. For all I knew it could be a quest made for parties or players who had already started grinding. I did reached level three last night because we went out fighting again after a short meal to keep ahead of the curb, but that was hardly impressive. No, instead I ignored the imposing structure sprinted to the closed

house - no reason not to use the skill and strengthen it when I had the chance - and knocked on the wooden door.

After a few hours of completing then repeating mundane tasks, the highlight of which was exterminating Giant Rats out of a widowed NPC's basement, I was around two-hundred EXP short of level five. Despite being a mildly effective way to level, the

simple quests were starting to get on my nerves. I wasn't used to spending time on trivial errands like chasing after buying missing people or objects for extended periods of time, I was training to be a huntress and battle school usually focused on fighting-related tasks and lessons. By the time I made my way back to the inn to find Kirito waiting, I had noticed the faint sounds of battle barely reaching my ears from the forest and caught sight of a few players as they ran intently through town. At the inn my guide was sitting in a chair towards the back of the room looking at his screen - presumably looking at drops we earned last night - and glanced up when I walked in. "Good morning, Kirito!"

He seemed a little strained even though he couldn't been up for too long. I didn't mention it though, it was probably the stress of having your life at risk or worry over his family in the real world. Most people avoided jeopardising their survival whenever possible, that just wasn't something my family did. We fought for what was right and protected the kingdom and people. Of course I was concerned about their well-being, but I also knew that they could take care of themselves and they knew the same was true for me.

"Good morning." His eyes dashed back to the room I occupied last night, confused, before asking "Uhh, weren't you just…?"

"Nope. I got up before the sun did today - a bad habit from battle school, but I'm a morning person anyway. So I figured you wouldn't be up for a while and killed time doing easy quests in town." I explained after sitting down next to my new

friend. "So, what's the plan for today?"

"Oh, uhh… I thought we'd do some shopping in town then I'd show you how to use sword skills and I was hoping you could practice on the Secret of Medicine in the Forest quest. You haven't already done it, have you?"

I shook my head. "Is that the one at the two-story house? I thought a quest from the biggest house in town would be dangerous and might be intended for teams or something so I was going to follow your lead. I didn't get new equipment either, youknow

better than I do what to buy and sell. Learning about sword skills would be great though, so this sounds perfect."

After a quick breakfast - courtesy of the innkeeper who seemed to like me - we made for the streets as Kirito explained the situation. "So, some of the other beta-testers have probably made it this far by now and anyone we run into will likely have played SAO before or be with another tester. Be wary. There is a chance players will resort to dishonest means to get stronger though most will stop short of PKing - that's Player Killing - seeing as that would be actual murder in

this game. First we should get better gear then start on the quest I mentioned earlier. It's reward is a really good quality sword that I used even on the third floor in the beta. It wouldn't help you because the sword is straight, but it's still a practical way to level because in order to complete the quest you have to get a rare drop from a Little Nettle. The spawn rate of a flowered Little Nettle is around 0.01% so you need to kill a lot of them to get the drop; It'll be explained when we accept the quest.

"I'm not changing my sword even though there is a straight sword sold in Horunka Village. It has low durability and Little Nettles attack with acid, so they don't make for a very good combination. I don't know about the curved sword stock so we'll have to check it out. For defence I suggest leather armor so you can avoid weighing down your avatar with bulky equipment. There's also the added bonus of not drawing attention to ourselves when we don't need it. I'm selling almost all of my drops because they're mostly materials a player with the Cooking or Forging skill would -"

Forging? Did that mean… Cresent Rose… "You can make your own weapons here?" I was interrupting him mid-sentence but I hardly noticed and didn't care. Weapons. Only Uncle Qrow seemed to understand my attraction to weapons, even if he didn't share my preoccupation with lumps of metal heated and shaped into blades or guns or shields to protect and defend the things you care about as you would any other part of yourself. The object a person chooses to wield is just as much a part of their being as the reason that person is fighting in the first place, because the weapon is how they protect it - Yang explodes her enemies into submission with Ember Celica, stubbornly forcing her way to her goal - and the method is what makes the at Signal intends to become a huntsman or a huntress after they finish learning how, so everyone can fight... But using a mace to crush your adversaries and cleanly slicing your foe into two are completely different. So seeing weapons

like meeting new people for who they really are, without all the complicated talking and politics. A person's weapon reveals how that fighter defends himself and just what lengths he is willing to go to. It's better than meeting new people because you learn all of those things right off the bat and can decide who to like and trust that way. No matter what Yang said.

"Uhhh…" was his eloquent response to the most important question I had ever asked. His gaze flew from the village to my eager face "Yeah, players can craft their own weapons and armor with Forging, furniture with Carpentrand clothes with Tailoring. That's I really know, but if you're really interested I can contact a reliable information broker from the beta. I, uhh, take it you like making weapons?"

I nodded feverently. "I love weapons. Swords, guns, axes, knives, crossbows, spears and maces. And of course scythes, my personal favorite means of killing something. I'm kind of a dork about it, my sister pokes fun, but… well anyway… In the real world I use a scythe/high-caliber sniper rifle combo I built from scratch. Everyone at Signal makes their own weapons, but I might have gone a little overboard with Crescent Rose."

Silence met my enthusiasm before Kirito seemed to overcome his shock. "...I'll message Argo then. She probably has something on forging from the beta and that will give you something to work from. I don't think you'll be able to design and personalize swords here like you're used to, but you should be able to at least make the blades. That reminds me, we forgot to form a party last night. Give me a second and I'll send the request."

Kirito pinched his thumb and finger together to bring up his menu and tapped the screen a few times before a message materialized in front of me. Invite. Do you accept this party invitation? I touched the blue circle and Kirito's health bar appeared beneath mine at the leftmost edge of vision. He immediately repeated the process but choosing different options and another box popped up. This time it was a friendship invitation and I accepted without ceremony. It only made sense that we'd party together if we were going to fight together, and it'd be easier for Kirito to sort drops this way too.

By that point we'd reached the weapons shop where Kirito sold his drops and purchased a Leather Coat. I followed his example - I wouldn't have room for the forging skill for a while at least and I needed space in my inventory for today's drops -

but hesitated to buy anything before receiving a summary of its perks and the kind of player build that'd benefit most from its acquisition.

Eventually I decided on and paid for Leather Boots and a Bronze Curved Sword whose durability did leave something to be desired, but it'd work as a back up. I equipped the skirt before Kirito, donning his new outerwear, led the way to the tool shop.

We quickly depleted our remaining Cor - the local currency - on health and antidote potions. Penniless, we ran to the two-story house.

"You go in first," Kirito instructed, "When the woman inside offers you water refuse, that way you'll refuse the quest. I'll follow after a minute or so and accept. It's an individual quest so even though you'll help me complete it, you won't have

officially 'participated' in the quest."

I knocked and opened the door to find an NPC stirring a pot in the kitchen. She seemed aged beyond her years and exhausted from exertion. Whatever ailed her, it wasn't a light burden. "Good evening, journeying swordsman. You must be tired, I do wish I could offer you some food, but I do not have any at the moment. All I can give is a single cup of water, or so."

That seemed odd, considering she was obviously stewing something in that cauldron-like basin, but I shook my head politely. "No thank you, I'm perfectly alright." The woman returned to her brewing. Whatever she was making, she gave the impression it was important.

After a brief silence, Kirito entered and she repeated her question. "That will be fine," he assured the quest-giver. She subsequently poured water from a on-hand jung into an overtly aged cup then set it on the table in the dining room. Kirito followed her and sat in the empty chair, smiling at me as he passed. He downed the water in a single swallow and settled in to hear her story.

* * *

 _Thank you again for your time and attention,also for your favorites and follows. Have a wonderful day, happy reading, writing,and reviewing everyone!_


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